First report of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter africanus’ in Nigeria
In Nigeria, a specific survey on huanglongbing (associated with ‘Candidatus Liberibacter spp.’; EPPO A1 List) was carried out in citrus orchards in April 2018. Twenty sites were surveyed in Benue and Nasarawa states, and symptomatic trees were observed in 11 sites. Five symptomatic trees per site were randomly selected, and leaf samples were collected from sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) plants showing typical huanglongbing symptoms, including mild to severe yellowing on the shoots and mottling and chlorosis on the leaves. Laboratory tests (PCR, sequencing) confirmed the presence of ‘Ca. Liberibacter africanus’ in all leaf samples collected from 4 sites in Benue state. All samples from Nasarawa state gave negative results. This is the first record of ‘Ca. Liberibacter africanus’ in Nigeria.
The situation of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter africanus’ in Nigeria can be described as follows: Present, only in some areas (first found in 2018 in Benue state).
Sources
Ajene IJ, Khamis F, Mohammed S, Adediji AO, Atiri GI, Kazeem SA, Ekesi S (2020) First report of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter africanus’ associated with citrus greening disease in Nigeria. Plant Disease 104(5), p 1535. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-19-2380-PDN